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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2021
Columbia County approves rezoning
farmland for industrial park expansion
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
John Hendricks
Flames and smoke rise from the Bootleg fi re in southern Oregon on Wednesday.
Bootleg fi re expands
in southern Oregon
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Firefi ghters scram-
bled on Friday to control a raging inferno
in southeastern Oregon that’s spreading
miles a day in windy conditions, one of
numerous confl agrations across the West
that are straining resources.
Authorities ordered a new round
of evacuations Thursday amid wor-
ries the Bootleg fi re, which has already
destroyed 21 homes, could merge with
another blaze that also grew explosively
amid dry and blustery conditions.
The Bootleg fi re, the largest wildfi re
burning in the U.S., had torched more
than 377 square miles by Friday morn-
ing and was just 7% contained. It has
stymied fi refi ghters for nearly a week
with erratic winds and extremely dan-
gerous fi re behavior. Early on, the fi re
doubled in size almost daily and strong
winds from the south on Thursday after-
noon yet again pushed the fl ames rapidly
to the north and east.
The fi re has the potential to move
4 miles or more in an afternoon and
there was concern it could merge with
the smaller, yet still explosive Log fi re,
said Rob Allen, incident commander
for the blaze. That fi re started Mon-
day as three smaller fi res exploded
to nearly 5,000 acres in 24 hours and
was still growing, fanned by the same
winds, Allen said.
Firefi ghters were all pulled back to
safe areas late Thursday due to intense
fi re behavior and were scouting ahead
of the main blaze for areas where they
could make a stand by carving out fi re
lines to stop the inferno’s advance, he
said.
Crews are watching the fi re, nearby
campgrounds “and any place out in front
of us to make sure the public’s out of
the way,” Allen said. He said evacuation
orders were still being assessed.
The Bootleg fi re is aff ecting an area
north of the Oregon-California bor-
der that has been gripped by extreme
drought. On Thursday, authorities
decided to expand previous evacuation
orders near Summer Lake and Paisley.
Both towns are located in Lake County,
a remote area of lakes and wildlife ref-
uges just north of the California border
with a total population of about 8,000.
It has periodically generated enor-
mous smoke columns that could be seen
for miles — a sign that the blaze is so
intense it is creating its own weather,
with erratic winds and the potential for
fi re-generated lightning.
they need YOU
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Adults in Clatsop
County interested
in a NEW 4-H
Club promoting
opportunities for Teen
Leadership or other
4-H programs, please
contact:
Sandra Carlson
(503) 325-8573
Sandra.carlson@oregonstate.edu
– TEENS, SPEAK UP! –
What matters to you?
Teens, let us know by
taking the survey at
https://beav.es/3qk
CALLING CARING ADULTS
IN CLATSOP COUNTY!
Clatsop County 4-H is looking for caring adults
like you to serve as rotating co-leaders of the
new Teen 4-H Leadership Club!
Non-traditional teens, ages 14 to 17, need
your help to develop their interests, talents,
teamwork and leadership skills. Meetings
will be starting soon at Clatsop Community
College. Just three hours a month of your time
can make a big difference in their lives!
No prior experience
is necessary—
training, curriculum
and guidance will
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4-H leaders during each
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OSU Extension Service prohibits discrimination in all its programs, services, activities, and materials.
CLATSKANIE — Columbia County
commissioners have approved rezoning
837 acres of high-value farmland for indus-
trial use despite concerns over its potential
impact on neighboring farms and salmon
habitat.
It is the third time since 2014 commis-
sioners have approved the rezone. The deci-
sion was previously remanded twice by the
Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
At least one environmental group is
already pledging to again appeal to the state
land use board, which could take months to
review the case.
The property in question was purchased
by the Port of Columbia County in 2010. It
is adjacent to the Port Westward Industrial
Park along the Columbia River.
Offi cials are seeking to rezone the land to
attract new tenants that can utilize the port’s
deepwater dock, which provides 4,000 feet
of waterfront access for large cargo ships.
The dock is also self-scouring, meaning it
never has to be dredged.
Opponents fear whether new fossil fuel
developments may pollute the air and water,
harming endangered salmon and contami-
nating farms within a vulnerable, low-lying
area.
Jim Hoff mann, who farms 175 acres of
organic blueberries roughly 2 miles down-
stream of Port Westward, condemned the
commission’s vote on Wednesday as “a
travesty.”
“The port and the county are turning back
the clock on Oregon’s land use progress with
plans to pave over wetlands on the fl ood-
plains of the lower Columbia River,” Hoff -
mann said, adding the port’s plans will put
local crops like berries, spearmint and pep-
permint at risk.
Dan Serres, conservation director at
Columbia Riverkeeper, echoed Hoff mann’s
comments and said the group plans to appeal.
“We think the county commission and
the port have made a big mistake,” Serres
said.
Scott Jensen, a planner at the port, said
the rezone application was submitted with
no specifi c project in mind.
“We really have not been talking to peo-
ple about specifi c projects, because we want
to make sure we have the land fi rst,” Jen-
sen said. “We’re doing this work so that pri-
vate businesses don’t have to go through and
do this type of work on top of their regular
development timeline.”
However, Northwest Innovation Works,
the company behind a rejected methanol
refi nery in Kalama, Washington, does have
a lease option that was approved by the port
in 2019 to build a facility within part of the
rezoned land at Port Westward, which has
raised worries about the site becoming a hub
for fossil fuels.
Part of the rezone was also set aside for
two new agricultural leases, with Seely Mint
leasing 211 acres and and Columbia River
Ranch leasing 243 acres for cattle grazing.
Port Westward is already home to three
gas power plants operated by Portland Gen-
eral Electric, and a loading facility operated
by the Massachusetts-based Global Partners
Inc. to ship ethanol and biodiesel across the
Pacifi c Ocean.
Jensen said the port expected there would
be an appeal, and is prepared to return to the
state land use board.
Farmland in Oregon is broadly protected
under state land use planning laws — spe-
cifi cally Goal 3, which requires counties
to identify land for “exclusive farm use.”
Rezoning farmland requires what is known
as a Goal 3 exception.
The port’s fi rst stab at rezoning was
approved in 2014. Columbia Riverkeeper
and Mike Seely, a local mint farmer,
appealed that decision, which was remanded
by the state land use board.
The port resubmitted its application
in 2017, this time identifying fi ve poten-
tial uses for the land. They include forestry
and wood products; dry bulk commodities;
liquid bulk commodities; natural gas; and
break bulk cargo.
Again, Columbia County approved the
request, and again it was remanded by the
state land use board on appeal from Colum-
bia Riverkeeper and 1000 Friends of Oregon.
Though the state land use board agreed
the fi ve proposed uses do depend signifi -
cantly on Port Westward’s dock, and no
alternative sites could reasonably accom-
modate them, the port did not do enough to
show compatibility with surrounding farms
and habitat.
The question of compatibility remains at
the heart of the dispute.
“The scale of this is really big, and
resource impacts are signifi cant,” Serres
said. “It will be interesting to see how LUBA
treats this for a third time.”
According to a 2012 economic study, the
Port of Columbia County and its various
properties support 476 direct jobs, 342 sec-
ondary jobs and a combined annual output
of $88 million.
By further expanding its industrial base,
the port hopes to provide additional jobs and
tax revenue to the county.
“We think that this has a huge potential
impact to benefi ting the county as a whole,”
Jensen said.